


In a Different Circumstance

by virgonnawrite



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Cameos, Childhood Friends, Cliche, Enemies to Lovers, M/M, don't look at me for the parents' names i was too lazy to think of something okay, lots of them because apparently 21 people wasn't enough, ot21, ot21 because i want to, self indulgent fic, will add more tags later on in life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-28
Updated: 2019-02-11
Packaged: 2019-10-18 08:23:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17577320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/virgonnawrite/pseuds/virgonnawrite
Summary: which cliche tropes shall i use?secretary?bad boy?childhood?arranged marriage?assassin?why not all?orWhere Sicheng finds out that his family had arranged a marriage between him and the condescending, pretentious golden boy that is Jung Jaehyun in order to make sure that the merging of their companies goes off without a hitch. Sicheng then meets a lot of people along the way and starts to warm up to the cold young CEO. Who knew that all it took was a marriage against their will was all it took for Sicheng to look at Jaehyun differently? (Everyone knew. Everyone)





	1. My Parents Sold Me to One Direction?!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I'll work on the summary some other time this is all I got for now.
> 
> So I actually know jack shit about business stuff and company merging but this is a very self indulgent fic so if you can just throw y'all's business degrees out the window, that would be appreciated, thanks.
> 
> Also hello. Idk if anyone would find this since I'm sneaking my way into ao3 so there has been no self promo prior! So if you came here out of curiosity it already means so much to me.
> 
> unedited cause... i'm lazy right now. maybe in the future tho so bear with me and help me point out mistakes XD

“Hey, boss.”  
“Sicheng? Why are you calling? Your shift starts in 15 minutes, you know.”  
He scratched his neck sheepishly, even though she couldn’t see him from the other side of the line. “Yeah about that. I’m so sorry for dropping this on you last minute but, can I take the day off? There’s been an emergency.”  
A small tut can be heard in the background. “Okay fine. You’re lucky it’s a slow day today. Take care.”  
He grinned. “Thanks, Wendy. I owe you one.”

 

Sicheng hung up and let out a breath before turning over to his closet. He didn’t want to skip work, he quite liked his job at the café near his place. The staff was friendly and the pay was reasonable; there was the occasional run in with a rude customer, but other than that, Sicheng found the overall experience to be more relaxing than his other job at the dance studio where he was basically treated like an errand boy.

 

After skimming through his wardrobe, he pulled out a dress shirt and let out a deeper sigh.

 

It’s not like he wanted to attend to this ‘emergency’ either. He had pretty much been dressed for work when his mother called that morning to tell him to come to the Jungs’ house for lunch, telling him that his as well as his family’s lives were dependent on his attendance. Knowing his mother’s flair for the dramatics, it probably wasn’t that big of a deal, but he’d rather spare himself from more of his mother’s dramatic lecturing, who would probably insist that he “has an agenda to break the ties of the Jung and Dong family”. Because it wasn’t like that at all.

 

_Well, not entirely_ , Sicheng bitterly thought, as he buttoned up his shirt and put on his belt.

 

Because Sicheng didn’t hate the Jung family. He’s known them for as long as he could remember. His parents had been friends with Mr. and Mrs. Jung since university, and they’ve always kept in touch. Of course, they went into different paths, the Dongs living a modest life running a relatively small dance studio where Sicheng helps out with sometimes while the Jungs own one of the hugest business conglomerates in the area. While Sicheng’s own family is quite well off, their wealth is nothing compared to the Jungs.

 

“Ah shit, my keys,” Sicheng muttered, and ran back to his room to fetch his car keys.

 

Sicheng liked the Jungs, mostly. The head of the house could be intimidating at times, being one of the most influential people in the country, but his wife and eldest son were very nice people. Mrs. Jung was a very well-mannered lady who made you feel welcomed whenever you stepped into her home and Taeyong had been like an older brother figure to Sicheng, always taking care of him and babying him when no one else would.

 

The main problem lies with the second child.

 

Jung Jaehyun.

 

Just the thought of his name made Sicheng grip tighter onto the steering wheel as he drove towards the Jung Estate.

 

Jung Jaehyun. Childhood friends is not even close to the kind of relationship that the two of them had. Rivals? Sicheng wasn’t sure, he just knew he hated Jung Jaehyun.

 

Being the same age, Sicheng was almost always compared to Jaehyun, and it was hard since he could never seem to keep up with him. Grades, sports, charms. The gap in skills between them widened every year, no matter how much Sicheng desperately chases after him. His parents don’t make it obvious, but he could still tell that they had expected more from him, and that frustrated him a lot growing up. He could never be Jaehyun, the Golden Boy. He was just mediocre Dong Sicheng.

 

But even with that, Sicheng couldn’t be jealous. He didn’t have the time in his schedule to be jealous of the great Jung Jaehyun when he’s too busy actually dealing with him. Jaehyun frustrated him to no end. He had always been unresponsive, moody, and condescending. He never took up Sicheng’s invitations to play together when they were young, had instead scoffed in his face and told him that he was better off studying instead of wasting his time playing in the field. Sure, Jaehyun had charms, but he only used it when he needed to.

 

Other than that, he’s just a pompous asshole who had always belittled Sicheng’s efforts, side eyeing him as he had received yet another perfect score on his examinations and won medals of gold in their school tournaments. He even liked to emphasize the difference of class between the cliques they hang out with, with Jaehyun hanging out with the stars of the school, NCT High’s pride and joy, while Sicheng just stuck around with his closest friends. Jaehyun had always grown up with everything handed to him on a silver platter, achieving everything with little to no effort while Sicheng was stuck in mediocrity.

 

Okay, maybe Sicheng was a little jealous.

 

***

 

As he pulled up his car onto the Jung Estate’s driveway, Sicheng had to blink a few times as he tried to adjust his eyes to the sight before him.

 

The estate hadn’t really changed much, maybe a few renovations here and there. The garden was still littered with daffodils and azaleas, yet there was a small new fountain in the centre of it now, water flowing elegantly out of it. The front door had received a makeover too; instead of the imposing looking worn out front door, it had been remodelled to take on a more modern look. Looking at it overall, Sicheng felt a pang of nostalgia yet the feeling of unfamiliarity showed in his hesitant steps towards the door.

 

Truthfully, it had been a while since Sicheng had visited the Jung Estate, or his own house for that matter. After various protests on both sides, Sicheng managed to convince his family to let him ‘fly out of the nest’ and venture out into the real world to ‘make a name for himself’. Even though he did occasionally help out at his parents’ dance studio, he tried not to make it a regular thing since he was very busy with his other jobs.

 

As Sicheng finally reached the doors, he took a deep breath and knocked twice and waited for an answer as he continued to be occupied in his thoughts.

 

Life had been busy in the city, with Sicheng needing to work extra hard to keep up with the fast-paced lifestyle and outrageous living costs. It would have been tough and unbearable, if Sicheng hadn’t been chasing after an impossible standard all his life, as bittersweet as it was. Eventually, Sicheng became too busy and started to contact his family less and less, much less interact with the Jungs. Which wasn’t exactly a bad thing, since it meant that he would also see and hear less of Jung Jaehyun.

 

He was finally at peace from him. Until now.

 

_Hah, running away to the city to avoid some guy you hated_ , Sicheng chuckled to himself. _Maybe Mom isn’t the only dramatic one of the family._

 

“Sicheng! It’s been too long.”

 

Sicheng snapped out of his reverie and looked up to see Mrs. Jung with a huge smile plastered across her face. She looked genuinely happy that Sicheng was there and he had to resist the urge to hug her right then and there. Because Sicheng didn’t do hugs. The hugs came to him.

 

And came to him they did. Mrs. Jung wrapped her arms around Sicheng so tight that he almost couldn’t breathe, but he laughed fondly anyway.

 

When she finally let go, Sicheng grinned at her. “Afternoon, Mrs. Jung. It’s so good to see you again after so-”  
“Sicheng-ge!”

 

Both Sicheng and Mrs. Jung turned to look at the source of the voice. Sicheng’s eyes lit up when a young boy came up to him and engulfed him in another bone-crushing hug. At least this time his arms were free to reciprocate them.

 

“Renjun! Oh my God, I missed you so much,” he cried. He hadn’t seen his little brother in ages, and he is probably one of the main reasons that Sicheng even agreed to go have lunch in the first place. Renjun was now fifteen years old, and puberty had started to show on his face and even his voice. If there was one thing Sicheng regretted, it was not being there for him as much as he should have while Renjun was growing up.

 

Renjun, however, not really minding that his brother lost almost all contact with his family, nuzzled his head into Sicheng’s chest before looking up at him, beaming. Mrs. Jung’s laugh caused them to look at her. She gestured towards the back of the house.

 

“Well, everybody’s already at the dining hall. Shall we?”

 

***

 

“Oh. _You’re_ here.”

 

Whatever good mood that Sicheng was in when he reunited with his family was immediately destroyed when he heard that voice that he most definitely did not miss. He turned to glare towards the source of the voice and his fiery gaze was met with cold ones.

 

There he was. Jung Jaehyun. Sitting there in his glory self like he owned the place. Which, he sort of did, technically. It was his house. He had definitely grown up since the last time Sicheng saw him (duh), his features becoming sharper and more mature. He apparently grew more annoying, too.

 

“Yes, I am. Now the party will definitely start since I’m here making sure your deadbeat ass isn’t here to ruin the fun,” he said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. The rest of the aforementioned party looked at the two of them uncomfortably and then at each other, knowing that the two boys never really did get along well.

 

“Now, now,” Mrs. Dong soothed. “Let’s not do this in front of the food. The staff had worked so hard in preparing the meal. Isn’t that right, Bo-ah?”

 

Mrs. Jung smiled at her friend. “You’re right, Vic,” she smiled comfortingly at Sicheng and glared at Jaehyun before gesturing to the feast in front of them. “Now please, enjoy yourselves.”

 

***

 

Lunch was awkward. Or at least, it felt that way to Sicheng.

 

Everyone was chattering animatedly with one another. The two women were laughing as they exchanged stories and gossip as Renjun politely joined in, nodding and laughing every now and then. Both Mr. Dong and Mr. Jung spoke more quietly compared to their wives, yet they seem to be having fun as well.

 

Sicheng, however, was decidedly not having fun as he continued to pick at his food. He glanced up and saw Jaehyun from across the table, chewing on his food grumpily. Sicheng rolled his eyes and stuffed a load of food in his mouth.

 

He didn’t know why he had to be stuck sitting across Mr. Perfect when there were so many seats at the dining table. He couldn’t even sit near Renjun, as he had already claimed a spot in between his parents. _Ever the spoiled child,_ Sicheng thought fondly.

  
As Sicheng swallowed his food, he took another small glance at Jaehyun before sighing. _At least he’s being civil and not bothering me all that much this time._

 

The sudden, harsh tinkling of metal against glass caused Sicheng to flinch and caused the soup that was scooped up into his spoon to splatter right onto Jaehyun’s face, which then caused the latter to hiss in pain since the soup was hot. Sicheng held in his laugh as he was about to apologize, but changed his mind when Jaehyun gave him a really cold glare, distaste clearly showing on his face, which irritated him for some reason. So instead, Sicheng shrugged and looked away, not daring to see Jaehyun’s reaction.

 

Mrs. Jung looked slightly sheepish as she slowly lowered the fork and glass onto the table. “Sorry to startle you two, but there is an announcement!” She looked at her husband for confirmation and continued when she received a nod.

 

“So there actually is a reason why we invited the Dongs over for lunch. Not that your company alone isn’t enough, Victoria dear,” Mrs. Jung quickly took in Mrs. Dong’s hand assuringly, and the latter simply smiled in amusement. “But the main reason why we’ve organized this mini reunion is to announce our plans for an even bigger union!”

 

Sicheng was confused. “I’m sorry, what?”

 

This time, Mrs. Dong took over. “What she means to say is, that Jung Corp. is planning to merge with Dong Dance Academy!”

 

“What?” Sicheng cried, even more confused. Across from him, Jaehyun let out a choking sound. “How is that possible? We’re just a small dance studio! Why does a big ass company like Jung Corp. want to merge with us for?”  
“Son, it hurts that you have so little faith in our business,” his father joked. Renjun nodded.  
“Ge! Are you kidding? DDA is like, one of the hottest dance studios in the area. Almost everyone tries to apply there. How could you not notice?” Sicheng furrowed his brows.  
“They do? Huh.” The moment of shock and confusion stayed with him for a couple more moments before he clapped his hands excitedly towards his parents and the Jungs (minus Jaehyun). “Well that’s great! Congratulations! I am so happy for you guys-”  
“Us, sweetie.”  
“Yeah us. But really, why the sudden merge?”

 

“Well, call it a long overdue plan,” Mr. Dong explained. “Siwon and I have been talking about merging our companies together during uni days and well, we decided that now that we’re both established in our own fields, we should finally make it happen.”

 

Mr. Jung, who had been relatively very quiet throughout the entire meeting, cleared his throat and started to speak, “Yes, I guess you can say that this is quite self-indulgent on our part- “  
“Very,” Jaehyun muttered.  
“But,” he continued, glaring at his son. Sicheng observed that other than himself, Jaehyun seemed to like annoying his parents, too. “We genuinely do believe that both parties can benefit from this merging. It would be difficult, especially when taking in the reactions of others. I expect their reactions to be along the lines of shock like Sicheng’s and most especially disapproval like my boy Jaehyun here, so thank you for the demonstration,” he finished off sarcastically. Sicheng grinned at him. Maybe he has a sense of humour behind that imposing demeanour after all.

 

“Which is why,” Mrs. Jung continued. “We thought that we could use a sort of…. Uh…. barrier, let’s say. To keep people from questioning more than they should.” All of a sudden Mrs. Jung started giggling nervously, not really looking at neither Sicheng nor Jaehyun. Both of them looked at her in confusion and looked at the others for an explanation as to why the sudden change in behaviour. The other three adults looked at each other, seemingly debating on who should have to deal with the burden. The burden of what, Sicheng doesn’t know.

 

Finally, Mrs. Dong sighed and nodded in resignation, causing the two men to sigh in relief. She looked at the two boys almost apologetically, and suddenly Sicheng had a feeling that he didn’t want to hear what she had to say next.

 

“Long story short,” she started, pausing for a moment to prepare herself for the reaction that was about to come. “We decided that, to ensure a safe and lasting bond between the two companies merging, we thought that, um, we should strengthen the bond by merging the two families, in uh, a more personal way.” Sicheng and Jaehyun looked at her blankly.  
“You might wanna shorten the story a bit more, Mother,” Sicheng said, getting more impatient by the minute.

  
“Basically, the two of you are to get married,” Mr. Jung blurted out. As soon as he said that, the other three adults looked away, and Renjun gasped in surprise as he immediately turned to look at his brother to look at his reaction towards the shocking news.

 

At first, Sicheng’s face went blank. For a moment his brows furrowed in confusion as he let Mr. Jung’s words sink in. After that, he was absolutely furious. Sicheng didn’t get mad that often, so everytime he did Renjun made sure to avert his gaze.

 

“What do you mean marr-”  
“What the FUCK do you mean, married?” Jaehyun pointed a finger towards him. “To him?!” Sicheng flinched as Jaehyun raised his voice, sitting close to him and all. If Sicheng was mad, then Jaehyun looked absolutely livid. Which, not surprisingly, irritated Sicheng, not to mention slightly hurt. He’s not bad husband material. Not entirely.

 

“Language, Jung Jaehyun!” scolded Mrs. Jung. Her gaze landed on Sicheng and her face softened. “I know that this is a lot to take in, but-”  
“Oh no, we’ve gone way past ‘taking it in’,” Jaehyun said sardonically as he stood up from his seat and glared at everyone at the table (not including Renjun, of course). “There is no ‘taking it in’, Mom. I am not gonna be pulled into you and Dad’s little childhood fantasy scheme and I am certainly not taking a part in it by marrying _him._ It’s a hard no from me.”

 

With that, he began to leave the dining hall, but not before he was stopped by Sicheng, who had scraped his chair back to retort before he left. Mrs. Jung cringed at the sound the chair made but she decided to hold it in for now.

 

“’ _Him_ ’? I have a fucking name, you know,” he laughed incredulously. “And you think I want to be married to you? Don’t flatter yourself hotshot.” Jaehyun barely turned back before he started to leave again. Sicheng glared at him one last time before turning his attention back to the Jungs.

 

“I-I don’t understand,” he started slowly. “Why… why us? I don’t see why we have to get married. Or at least, why _we_ have to get married. You…you know that we don’t really get along. Couldn’t I marry Taeyong instead?”

 

Yeah, wouldn’t Taeyong make more sense? They both got along better than he and Jaehyun could even dream of. Unlike his little brother, Taeyong was kind, compassionate, and friendly. He always made sure that Sicheng got plenty of attention after he got rejected by Jaehyun once again. Sicheng loved and respected him a lot. And although he saw him as nothing more than a brother figure, he would gladly marry Taeyong for the sake of his family, especially when having to choose between him and his germ of a brother.

 

Yet, as soon as he said it, he instantly regretted it. Everyone had tensed up ever so slightly. The atmosphere became thick and Sicheng was almost going to cry from the sensory overload if it weren’t for the low chuckle coming from Jaehyun.

 

“Of course it’s Taeyong you’d want to get married to. You always run back to him,” he said, each word lacing with venom.  
Sicheng slowly turned to look at him. “And just what the fuck does that mean?”

 

Without another word, Jaehyun left the scene, ignoring Sicheng’s question. Sicheng gave him one last glare before focusing on the situation at hand.

 

The table was quiet for a while. No one knew what to say after Jaehyun’s little outburst. It wasn’t really a surprise to the adults, however, knowing just how temperamental the younger Jung was. At the same time, Sicheng also started to take notice of who else was missing at the dining table.

 

“Wait. Where is Taeyong-hyung? Why isn’t he here?” he asked, looking around and saw no sign of the eldest Jung in sight. Mr. Jung continued to stay quiet as his wife started to look distressed. His parents could only look at each other for a moment before turning to look at their son.

 

“Well, you see,” Mr. Dong coughed, hesitant. He glanced briefly at the Jungs, choosing his words carefully. “Taeyong here, he uh, I guess you could say that he became independent-”  
“He ran away,” Mr. Jung interrupted. His face hardened as he said those words and Mrs. Jung immediately took in his hands in comfort. By the look on her face, it seemed like she needed the comfort too.

 

_Wow,_ Sicheng thought, as he leaned back in his seat. _Mr. Jung sure has a knack for dropping really big bombs huh._

 

“Taeyong-hyung…. ran… away?” Sicheng said, voicing everything out slowly to try to understand the events that was happening at the time. This was a lot to take in over lunch. “Since when? Where did he go?”

 

Mrs. Dong slowly nodded. She looked at her friends sympathetically before continuing. “Yes. It’s been… quite a while. Sometime after you moved out.” For some reason, Sicheng felt guilty. “And we don’t know where he went. But we think that it’s better if we don’t look for him.” Sicheng knew that there was more to it than that, but he didn’t want to cause further distress, so he didn’t push it. He’ll ask another time.

 

But there was something else that was bugging him about this whole thing. “Wait. If Taeyong-hyung’s gone, then who will take over your company? He’s been training to take over for as long as I can remember and, and now he just. Disappeared? Do you have a backup? How long will it take to find a replacement?” Sicheng knows that he’s barraging them with questions, but his mind is at such a disarray that he needed to clear out some things if he wanted to stay sane.

 

This time, Mr. Jung slowly looked up at him, face passive. “Thank you for your concern, Sicheng, but there’s no need to worry about that. I’ve already found a replacement. He’s actually been acting as the CEO for a few months now, actually.”  
Sicheng furrowed his brows. “Already? That’s fast. I thought you were picky when it comes to your management. What kind of person is he?”  
“Well, he’s… my son.”  
Sicheng was even more confused. “Your son? But I thought you said…” His eyes widened as he realized the implication behind his words. “You mean, Jung Jaehyun?!”  
“Yes.”  
“Wait,” Sicheng said, pausing to rub at his temples. He doesn’t know if he can take much more surprises. “Since when was Jaehyun qualified to run a company? Were you grooming him too?”  
Mr. Jung sighed. “Well, that’s the thing. We didn’t. But when Taeyong disappeared and we were so desperate to look for someone else to take over, Jaehyun stepped in and said that he’s willing to do it. Apparently he’s been grooming himself to be the CEO secretly all this time.”  
“And you said yes?!”  
“Of course I said yes. He’s my son, and I know the kind of person he is. He’s trustworthy and has a lot of integrity. I know he’s gonna accomplish much more than I could have when I was in charge.” At the last part, Mr. Jung had a faraway look in his eyes, and his smile looked almost bitter.

 

The table was silent. Sicheng had a headache. Today was such a mess. He looked up at the ceiling and buried face in his hands as he tried to take a few deep breaths to compose himself.

 

After a moment of silence, Mrs. Dong coughed and spoke softly, “I know that today’s been… full of surprises, but I really do hope you’d consider the marriage-”

 

“No,” Sicheng interrupted, looking at his parents in the eye. “Please don’t say more. It’s already hard for me to process everything right now. I… I need to think about it.” No one made any effort to stop him as Sicheng too, left the dining table.

 

After they were sure that Sicheng was out of sight, Mrs. Jung let out a sniffle before breaking down. She sobbed into her husband’s sleeve as he sat there, unmoving, numb. Mr. and Mrs. Dong looked at them in pity. They probably weren’t anticipating for Taeyong to be mentioned during the lunch, or maybe they were praying that they didn’t have to.

 

Renjun knew how out of place he was in that moment, and he was sure that his parents would want to comfort the Jungs. So, he excused himself and left to go find his brother.

 

***

 

Sicheng sat in his car in silence, staring blankly towards the garden with the new fountain. There was a whole lot of shit that went down half an hour ago, and Sicheng didn’t want to stick around that house any longer. As if marrying Jung Jaehyun wasn’t enough, he just found out that his childhood friend had ran away from home and that Jung Corp. had found their brand new CEO in the form of his younger brother.

 

Wait.

 

Oh God.

 

He’s going to _marry_ Jung Jaehyun.

 

Sicheng sighed and slammed his head against the steering wheel. Luckily the engine wasn’t on so he wouldn’t disturb the neighbours.

 

After some time passed, he could hear a soft knock on the car window on the passenger side. When he looked up, he saw his brother peering through with a concerned look on his face. Sicheng unlocked the car and Renjun wasted no time in getting in touching his older brother’s arm in consolation.

 

“Hey, just wanted to know if you’re doing okay,” Renjun smiled, trying to calm his brother down. Sicheng could only scoff.  
“I don’t know. Does ‘marrying your enemy and finding out that your childhood friend ran away’ sound like something I should be happy about?”  
“I don’t even understand why you hate Jaehyun-hyung so much. Sure, he’s kind of intimidating-”  
“An asshole,” Sicheng corrected. Renjun ignored his comment.  
“But he doesn’t really cause much harm. I mean, it probably won’t even be that bad! When you two get married, you can just avoid each other or something. You don’t need to interact.”  
Sicheng looked at his brother as if he was stupid. “Renjun, call me a hopeless romantic, but I was kind of hoping that my marriage would be built on love and communication, not… Jaehyun.”  
“Sicheng-”  
“And why do we have to get married anyway? It’s a company merge not a union between two kingdoms! Maybe Jaehyun was right, it all seems like they’re fulfilling a fantasy rather than a business deal to me.” He ranted. Renjun sighed.

 

“Listen, I was shocked too. That was my first time hearing the news, about you and Jaehyun-hyung getting married. And I know it isn’t fair to you, but… you have to cut them some slack, okay. They’re not really thinking things through. They’re still stressed about Taeyong to this very day.”

 

Sicheng pursed his lips. “What’s that about anyway?” he asked quietly. He didn’t want to disturb his parents or the Jungs earlier, but he figured that Renjun would have the information he wanted. “Where did he go? Why did he run off like that when the company’s future was at stake?”

 

Renjun fiddled with the glove compartment, opening and closing it. “It was around a year ago. I don’t know about the internal stuff that went down with the Jungs, but one day Taeyong just… up and left. He left a letter and everything. Mom and Dad rushed over as soon as they received the news.”  
“Was it that bad?” Sicheng asked, getting increasingly worried. “What did he say in the letter?”  
“He eloped.”  
“Renjun.”  
“Yes?”  
“Shut the fuck up.”  
“Oh hey, you finally cursed at me.”

 

Sicheng ignored the little comment and rubbed at his temples. “What… do you mean… he eloped? To who?”  
“I don’t know,” Renjun shrugged. “All I know is that whoever he married was clearly not approved by Mr. Jung.”  
“That’s… crazy,” was all Sicheng could offer.  
“Maybe, but I’m pretty sure that letter was what caused Jaehyun to be CEO.”  
“I mean, yeah, now that Taeyong’s gone and Jaehyun _apparently_ being qualified this entire time… Were you not paying attention?”  
Renjun shook his head. “No no no. I meant that the letter was what caused Mr. Jung to retire earlier than planned, causing Jaehyun to step up earlier.”  
Sicheng turned his body to properly face Renjun as he looked confused. “What do you mean?”

 

Renjun looked slightly hesitant to reply, but after a while he spoke up, “Well, Mr. Jung had always been very… ambitious. A perfectionist even. He had always wanted things to go his way, and he would do whatever it takes to get it. He was… uh, ruthless out there, I guess. He used to be involved in some very shady things when he was running as CEO and he was desperate for power. Just a little.”

 

Renjun paused for a second to look at his brother. When he saw that Sicheng was clearly getting invested, he took it as his cue to continue. “Well, the wealth and power got to him a teeny bit, and he started to take it out on his sons. Jaehyun had always been similar to his father, so it never really affected him.”  
“But Taeyong.” Sicheng guessed, slowly starting to get an idea of where this might be headed. His suspicions were only confirmed when Renjun nodded solemnly.  
“But Taeyong,” he repeated. “Taeyong-hyung was kind and compassionate. He always looked out for others before anything else. He was very humble too. But even though he’s got all the qualities that a decent human being should have, it wasn’t exactly compatible with Mr. Jung’s agenda. Then there’s the fact that he’s the eldest son, the natural heir. So the pressure had probably been too much for him even then.”

 

Sicheng nodded in understanding. He felt sympathetic for Taeyong, yet he also felt a surge of respect for him to be able to survive with that burden for so long. His mind then wandered to his brother, Jaehyun, who never had to go through what Taeyong did just because of how he was born. Typical.

 

“Wait,” Sicheng said, suddenly remembering a certain detail. “What about the letter?”  
Renjun nodded. “Yeah, I was getting there. Anyway, so he basically treated Taeyong-hyung like some sort of guarantee of his wealth instead of his son. He maneuvered Taeyong-hyung like a puppet. But Taeyong-hyung,” Renjun had a small smile playing on his face. “He had always been stubborn. He was always fighting to break free of the chains that his father had casted upon him. Doing whatever he wanted. And that’s how he met Taeil-hyung.”  
“Taeil?” Sicheng voiced out the unfamiliar name slowly. “His husband?”  
“Yeah, I don’t really know how they got to know each other, but he’s nice. I’ve met him once when Taeyong was still secretly dating him.”  
“What kind of person is he? What does he do?”  
“He was really nice and chill. And that’s the thing, I don’t really know much about him. He introduced himself when he was helping me out when I was in a pinch and we didn’t even know that we were both acquainted with Taeyong when we met. It wasn’t until I saw them together later that they that they probably had something going on, but I figured it wasn’t my business.”  
“Hey, hold on. When I asked you who Taeyong-hyung married earlier, you said you didn’t know!” Sicheng cried and pointed an accusing finger towards his brother. The latter put up his hands in defence.

 

“Well, I wasn’t lying!” Renjun defended. “I only know his name and his first impression on me. Other than that? His background? His family? His… hobbies? Nothing. But judging how Taeyong-hyung ran away and eloped, it’s safe to assume that Taeil-hyung isn’t a “man of high status” or whatever. Do you have water? My throat’s dry from all the talking.”

 

Sicheng reached for the back where he kept his water bottle and handed it to Renjun as the latter gratefully took it and drank generous gulps to rehydrate.

 

“Renjun. The letter?” he asked, getting impatient. He was grateful for the elaborate explanation, but he really didn’t see where this was going anymore.

 

Renjun stopped drinking and waved his hand in frustration. “I’m getting there, jeez. Can you chill.” Sicheng rolled his eyes as Renjun closed the water bottle and tossed it to the back of the car. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve before continuing.

 

“Yeah so basically Mr. Jung rejected Taeil-hyung and Taeyong got upset and eloped and left a letter. To put it into words, I guess that letter had been a wake up call for Mr. Jung. I don’t know if he had an epiphany or what, but he was really silent the next few weeks and all of a sudden he announced his early retirement.” Renjun shrugged and sighed. “Maybe he realized how his greed for wealth and power had affected him and his family so now he’s taking a step back and is letting other people take over. I mean, you noticed the difference in his character, didn’t you?”

 

Now that Sicheng thought about it, Mr. Jung _had_ seemed more, amicable earlier. He was still mostly reserved, but Sicheng didn’t miss the hint of a smile as he spoke with his own father and how he hadn’t been on his phone once during lunch. In fact, as far as Sicheng knew, the two families only continued being close thanks to the inseparable friendship of Mrs. Dong and Mrs. Jung. Maybe the former CEO _was_ working hard to start anew.

 

Sicheng let out the biggest sigh as he leaned back into his seat. “Okay, so I get why he did what he did. Mostly.” He turned his head to look at his brother, an eyebrow raised, “And just how did you know all of that, anyway?”  
“Oh, I think Dad took Mr. Jung out drinking one night after they got the letter and I bumped into him in the kitchen later where he started ranting about him.”

 

Sicheng nodded in understanding. His father never really did know how to control himself when drinking, and he tended to complain a lot when he was in too deep.

 

“I’m sorry you had to be the one to deal with that,” Sicheng apologized, placing a firm hand on his brother’s shoulder. Renjun simply shrugged.

 

“No, it’s fine. It was funny seeing him like that. Plus, it was the only way anyone would tell me anything anyway. Like, I was like, fourteen! I can handle these things, you know.”

 

Sicheng laughed as he ruffled his brother’s hair, despite Renjun’s protest. It was nice to feel a positive reaction this time. Renjun always knew what to say, whether he knew that or not.

 

“Sure, kiddo. I love you, you know that?” Renjun beamed in response.  
“I love you too!” his expression then changed into a more serious one. “So what are you gonna do now?”

 

Sicheng sighed. “Well, before I do anything, I’m gonna have to talk to _him_ ,” he said, referring to Jaehyun in pure disgust. “But I don’t know how to get to him and I would want to settle this as soon as possible.”  
“Why don’t you just text him?” Renjun offered.  
Sicheng made a face. “But that would imply that I actually have his number. Gross. No I don’t have it.”  
Renjun rolled his eyes. “Well, you can go see if he’s in his office. Jaehyun-hyung never really leaves the place these days and he did say earlier this morning that he’d head back to the building as soon as the lunch thing was over.”

 

Sicheng pursed his lips and closed his eyes. He can already feel like it was going to be annoying. “Okay, fine. I’m gonna go see him. You go back in and tell Mom and Dad that I’ve left first, but do _not_ tell them that I’m actually considering them to agree to this mess. I’m still mad at them.”

 

Renjun smiled at his brother, but concern was still evident in his eyes. “I’m proud of you, ge,” he said. “But are you gonna be okay going there?” Sicheng gave his brother a tight lipped smile.

 

“Well, we can only pray.”

 

***

 

The moment Sicheng stepped into the towering (literally) frame that is the Jung Corp. building, it didn’t take a while until Sicheng was directed to the elevators which would lead him to the CEO’s office. He wasn’t sure if the procedure was supposed to be that easy, considering he sort of just walked in with no prior appointment whatsoever, but he wasn’t going to complain.

 

As he reached the highest floor, he was immediately greeted by a slim, pale man sitting at his desk.

 

_Well, not much of a greeting_ , Sicheng thought as the man wordlessly looked at him up and down with a small frown on his face. Before he could second guess himself, Sicheng walked up to him in strides. As he reached closer, he noticed a plaque on his desk that read, ‘ _CEO Secretary, Kim Doyoung_ ’.

 

Maybe it was his mother’s dramatic genes running through his veins, or maybe Sicheng tried to boost his confidence and eased his nerves, nevertheless Doyoung raised his eyebrow when Sicheng slammed his hand onto the wooden desk.

 

“Uh, may I help you, sir?”  
“I request a private meeting with your CEO.”

 

Doyoung fixed his gaze at Sicheng’s hand on his desk and back to the latter’s face. Now he was growing more suspicious.

 

“And who the hell might you be?”

 

Sicheng paused for a moment before curling his hands into fists as he internally cringed.

 

“I’m… his fiancé.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you still can't tell this is my first piece of work here and also in general! If anyone stumbles into this, comments and feedback will be very much appreciated but I ONLY take in constructive criticism so if you have something unnecessarily mean to say I WILL ignore you. I hope you enjoyed!
> 
> p.s. also chapter titles are purely based on what first comes to mind when I think about this chapter so sorry if they don't really make sense.


	2. He Tried

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sicheng tried to be civil. But who was he kidding?

“His… fiancé?”

“Yes.”

 “You’re engaged… to the CEO of Jung Corp.”

“…Yes.”

 

Doyoung sighed internally. This wasn’t the first time someone had come up completely unauthorized demanding to see the newly appointed CEO, as if he had nothing else better to do than to host guests in his office. And as weird as it was, it wasn’t the first time someone tried to pass off as his boss’ significant other either. Fiancé, girlfriend, boyfriend, spouse. Doyoung saw through it all, and he could even sense the motives behind each visit: sabotage, blackmail, or just plain thirst towards the very attractive and eligible young bachelor.

 

With Sicheng however, it was different. His fingers drummed against the desk as he looked in pain, as if he’d rather get out of there as soon as possible. There was no hint of an ulterior motive behind his eyes, only irritation. He almost looked, dare he say, _genuine_. He would have fallen for it and let Sicheng through if not for one thing:

 

Who did people take Doyoung for?

 

No matter how good someone was at lying, Doyoung was someone who was meticulous in making sure that nothing slips past his eyes, and willing to take days of procedure to make sure he had everything in order. There was a reason the picky Jung Jaehyun hired him and kept him for so long.

 

“Well sir,” Doyoung said curtly, as he started typing through his computer. “Do you have an appointment?” It was a stupid question, especially since the answer was quite obvious.

“No,” Sicheng replied, as expected. Doyoung resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

“Okay, well, Mr. Jung is very busy today, and he doesn’t really take walk-ins unless it’s _very_ ,” he emphasized, glaring slightly at Sicheng as he said it. “Very important.”

“Well it is kind of important. In fact, it affects the company. _Your_ company. You could lose your job! Maybe.” Sicheng hesitated. This wasn’t going as easy as he originally thought. He didn’t really understand the circumstances that he was suddenly put in, nor did he really understand what the stakes were in this situation.

 

He glanced at the secretary who looked very unimpressed with Sicheng. It was probably not the best idea to threaten a man doing his job that he was gonna lose his job if he didn’t let him through. He knew what it probably sounded like, and his suspicions were confirmed when Doyoung scoffed.

 

“Ah yes, because you’re Jung Jaehyun’s beloved fiancé who he would do anything for, right? He wouldn’t let anyone upset you, and he will fire me if I don’t let you through because how can I treat his betrothed like this?” Doyoung said, sarcasm seeping heavily through his voice. “Now, sir, unless you have authorized permission to be here, I’m afraid if you don’t leave soon, I’ll have to call secu-”

 

“What the hell is going on?” A voice startled the both of them as they looked up to see Jaehyun come out of his office with an irritated look on his face. When he noticed that Sicheng was there, his expression distorted into something more furious.

 

“What the fuck are you doing here?” he yelled, glaring daggers towards Sicheng. To any other person, his gaze would make people cower in fear, but Sicheng had been on the receiving end of Jaehyun’s many bad moods and now he was tired. He crossed his arms and glared back.

 

“We need to talk,” he said coolly, not breaking eye contact. Jaehyun, however, ignored him and turned to face his secretary.

 

“Doyoung, what is the meaning of this? How did he get up here? Is reception slacking off?”

 

Doyoung cleared his throat and straightened his back before responding. “I’m not sure, sir. I’ll definitely have to send them for training since they don’t seem to understand the very strict protocol that we stick to.” His eyes briefly flickered over to Sicheng before picking up the phone situated on his desk. “And as for him, he’s been claiming that he’s your fiancé and demanded a meeting with you without an appointment. But I have everything handled, I’ll have the security up here in-”

 

Jaehyun completely ignored the last part of Doyoung’s sentence as he registered what the latter said. He whipped his head over to Sicheng.

 

“Fiancé?! Don’t tell me you’re actually considering that proposal?” Sicheng groaned and rolled his eyes.

 

(In the background, the two didn’t notice that Doyoung’s hand twitch slightly at Jaehyun’s outburst.)

 

“Don’t get too excited, lover boy, I didn’t say anything about that,” he spat. “That’s why I came here to talk to you.”

“You want to talk about the whole engagement thing?” Jaehyun asked incredulously.

 

 

“Uh, yes,” Sicheng replied through gritted teeth. “But can we do it somewhere… private?” He turned around to look at Doyoung, who at this point could only stare at them with wide eyes, mouth gaping.

 

Jaehyun, who had not expected Sicheng’s presence, much less wanting to talk about the absurd proposal their families imposed on them, looked at his secretary vaguely. As if in a daze, he slowly nodded and ushered Sicheng into his office.

 

Once they were inside, Jaehyun locked the door before turning to look at Sicheng warily, his arms crossed.

 

“So. You want to talk about the marriage.”

Sicheng winced. The words ‘marriage’ and ‘Jaehyun’ definitely did not sound appealing to him, especially since it was in the context where it involved him too.

 

“Can you not say that ever?” he asked, giving Jaehyun a dirty look.

“What, marriage?”

“EW EW EW. YES. Can’t we use like a code word or something?”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know… uh… Party?”

“Party.”

“I’d like to see _you_ come up with something!”

 

Jaehyun threw his hands up in the air in exasperation. “Okay, fine. Party. Now what about the ‘party’ do you want to talk about?”

 

Sicheng huffed. “Well, it’s clear to me that neither of us wants to throw this party.”

There was an unreadable expression on Jaehyun’s face. “Uh huh…”

“But… our parents do.”

“If I recall correctly, yes.”

“Want us to throw this party, I mean.”

“Yes, I got that.”

“But uh…”

 

Jaehyun clicked his tongue in annoyance. “Look, do you even have an idea where you’re going with this when you barged into my office? I really don’t have time for this.”

 

Sicheng thought about it for a while. He did intend to see Jaehyun to talk about the matter, but now that he was here he wasn’t actually sure in what aspect did he want to address. He suddenly looked sheepish.

 

“Uh… I was kind of hoping that I’d think of something by the time I saw you.”

“Are you kidding me right now?”

“Look, I promised Renjun that I’ll talk with you about this okay!” He scratched the back of his neck. “I just, didn’t think things through.”

 

Jaehyun pinched the bridge of his nose as he let out a long sigh. Without sparing Sicheng another glance, he unlocked the door and walked back towards his desk.

 

“Impulsive as always,” he muttered, very loudly. “I should have known. You _and_ that family of yours. Now get out before my secretary actually calls security.”

 

Sicheng stopped in his tracks when he caught Jaehyun’s words and narrowed his eyes as he slowly turned to look at him. “Excuse me? _My_ family is impulsive? Need I remind you that _your_ family is involved in this as well?”

Jaehyun groaned. “No need to remind me. But yes, I’ll give you that. I don’t know _what_ my parents were thinking. But you have to admit that _your_ family is the whole reason why my family had to take such drastic measures in the first place.”

 

Sicheng crossed his arms as he spoke his next words carefully, trying to simmer down the anger that was rising with every word that Jaehyun spoke.

 

“And just what do you mean by that, Jung Jaehyun?”

 

Jaehyun finally looked up at him and let out a sarcastic laugh. “You don’t get it? The only reason that we have to get married to secure the merge is because no one has faith in your little dance studio.”

 

“What the fuck are you trying to say, Jaehyun.” Sicheng was trying really hard to keep it in now. His nails dug into his arms as he tried to hold himself back from punching the CEO, who just scoffed.

 

“I mean, think about it. If your family’s business was as big and successful as Jung Corp., is a ‘diplomatic’ marriage even necessary to begin with? I doubt the shareholders will have any doubts if they knew for sure that the merge would profit them greatly. Face it,” he said in a finalizing tone as he sat in his chair. “Jung Corp. is doing charitable work for DDA by going through with this merge, and we have the responsibility to make sure your studio won’t face an embarrassing backlash thanks to their old friendship or whatever.”

 

Sicheng gaped as he stood in his place. Jaehyun then calmly pressed a button on his phone and spoke into the mic, “Doyoung, please call security and escort the… guest out of the building.”

 

Something inside Sicheng snapped and soon enough he found himself face to face with the CEO. As Jaehyun looked up at him with an eyebrow raised, Sicheng internally screamed in frustration by how arrogant he looked at that moment.

 

“You want to take back what you said there, Jung?” he growled. Jaehyun slowly pondered over it before shrugging.

 

“Not really. I only said the truth. Your parents are lovely people, but if you truly think that that hobby of a dance class that you guys run is actually a sustainable business then-”

 

Jaehyun yelped in surprise when Sicheng grabbed his tie and tugged it aggressively so that their faces were only inches from each other.

 

“You are such a goddamn arrogant bastard, you piece of sh-”

 

Before he could finish his sentence, the doors of the office burst open as security made their way towards Sicheng, each grabbing one arm while a third waited by the door. Sicheng struggled to break free, but to no avail. As they dragged him away, he looked over his shoulder to glare at Jaehyun one last time only to find out that the latter had went back to his work, completely focused as if Sicheng wasn’t even there. Which, for some reason, irritated him even more. He couldn’t just leave like this.

 

On his way out, he saw the secretary at his desk, typing on his computer. When Doyoung looked up, he flashed Sicheng a smug grin as he watched Sicheng be escorted to the elevators. Sicheng fought the urge to flip him off.

 

Once they were in the elevators, Sicheng waited until the doors started to close when the guards’ grip on him loosened. Then, in a lightning quick move, he freed his arms from the grasps and slipped out of the doors in the nick of time, catching the security off guard. By the time they registered what had happened, the doors had already closed and the elevator started to descend.

 

Wasting no time, Sicheng knew it wouldn’t take long until security caught up to him, so he immediately ran back towards the office. When Doyoung saw him, he looked shocked and quickly tried to stop him from going back into the CEO’s room, but Sicheng was faster, and he managed to dodge Doyoung as he reached for the office doors.

 

Slamming the doors open, Jaehyun looked up startled as Sicheng stormed his way towards him once again. Before he could react, Sicheng bent over the desk and spat onto his suit, around the same time that Doyoung and security had finally caught up to him.

 

Jaehyun looked down at his suit and back at Sicheng, speechless. As the security guards dragged him away for the second time that day, Sicheng managed to flip Jaehyun off before he disappeared from his sight. The only one left remaining was Doyoung, who looked horrified by what he had just witnessed before his eyes. After a moment of silence, he cleared his throat uncertainly.

 

“Um, would you like me to send your suit to the dry cleaners, sir?”

“Doyoung.”

“Yes, sir?”

“Shut the fuck up.”

 

Flustered that he was cursed at, Doyoung looked down and reached for the door handle. “I’m sorry, sir. I’ll leave you alone to cool down.”

“Please.”

 

Doyoung closed the door, and soundlessly went back to work.

 

***

 

 

****

**_ Sicheng _ **

_I am going to kill that stupid bitch_

**_Kun _ **

_who the fuck are you talking about this time_

**_ Ten _ **

_kun, come on_

_it’s obviously jaehyun_

**__ **

**_ Kun _ **

_ten shut up it cant be jaehyun_

_sicheng hasn’t spoken to him in years_

**_ Sicheng _ **

_no he’s right_

**_ Kun _ **

_how tf_

**_ Ten _ **

_It’s called best friend instincts, kun_

_you wouldn’t understand_

**_ Kun _ **

_literally shut up ten_

**_ Ten _ **

_you didn’t deny it so ha_

Sicheng sighed as he watched his two best friends bicker, again. He usually found it funny, but right now he just wanted to rant. Kun and Ten out of all people knew just how much Sicheng hated Jaehyun, having been with him since elementary and watched just how much Jaehyun irritated the poor boy.

 

Sicheng looked up from his phone and took a bite of his sandwich. He was on break now. After he was basically kicked out of the Jung Corp. building, Sicheng had nowhere else to go and needed to blow off some steam, so he contacted his manager from the café that he would drop by and work the next shift to make up for the one he couldn’t attend to earlier in the morning. Wendy thanked him and praised him for his impeccable timing, seeing as the café unexpectedly had a sudden surge of customers that day. As soon as he entered, Wendy threw his apron at him and told him to eat first so that he’d have enough energy to work the rest of the shift.

 

Sicheng chewed on his sandwich slowly as he went back to the group chat.

 

**_ Sicheng _ **

_guys, can I please talk?_

**_ Kun _ **

_oh im sorry sichengie, please continue_

**_ Ten _ **

_GO AHEAD, BESTIE_

**_ Kun _ **

_ten istg_

**_ Sicheng _ **

_guys._

**_ Kun _ **

_sorry sorry_

_go ahead_

_what did jaehyun do this time?_

**_ Sicheng _ **

_he was being an asshole_

**_ Ten _ **

_you didn’t really have to tell us that_

_you’re gonna have to elaborate, sweetie_

**_ Sicheng _ **

_he insulted my parents_

**_ Kun _ **

_wtf_

**_ Ten _ **

_a murdering today_

_wait why did the bitch insult mama and papa dongs >:(_

**_ Sicheng _ **

_well, long story short, they wanted me and j***** to host a party_

**_ Kun _ **

_uh… okay?_

_I mean ew you have to spend time with him but is it really worth the drama tho_

**_ Sicheng _ **

_no you don’t understand_

_it’s code word for marriage_

**_ Ten _ **

_what the fuck_

A tap on his shoulder caused Sicheng to look up from his phone. Wendy gave him a tight lipped smile and gestured towards the staff room door.

 

“Break’s over.”

“Oh, sorry,” he apologized. “I’ll be right there. Let me just clean up.”

 

When Wendy left, Sicheng quickly sent the group chat a text that he’ll come over and explain everything later. As soon as he hit send, he went back to work.

 

***

 

Sicheng suspected that they had been waiting in suspense since the big reveal, because the door opened even before Sicheng could knock. Sicheng raised an eyebrow at his best friend who greeted him from the other side of the door, who smiled sheepishly.

 

“Sorry,” Kun said. “We couldn’t wait any longer and I saw you coming up from the window. Ten is in the kitchen, he insisted on making popcorn.” In his arms, a little boy stared at Sicheng with wide eyes, while trying to stuff his fist into his mouth. Sicheng smiled and pinched his cheeks.

 

“Hi, Yangyang! It’s so good to see you! How old are you this year?” Instead of a reply, Yangyang took his slobbery fist out of his mouth and used it to try and used it to touch Sicheng’s hand. Kun made a distressed sound and gently tugged it away.

 

“Yangyang! Don’t put your fist in your mouth and touch people with it, that’s dirty! Where’d you put your teething toy, anyway? I could have sworn you were _just_ using it a second ago.” As if he was used to this, he took out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the boy’s hand before wiping his mouth. After that he offered it to Sicheng, who politely declined and took out his own wet wipes from his bag.

 

“Smart move,” Kun praised.

 

Sicheng grinned. “I’m not the only one who got used to little baby antics you know.” Kun grinned back and ushered him in before closing the door. They started to walk through the hallway when Kun spoke up.

 

“He’s only five months, by the way. He can barely say a word. Plus, you just saw him like two weeks ago. Why are you asking him his age as if you hadn’t seen him in years?”

“Cut me some slack! I still don’t know what to say to kids. It’s so awkward for me.”

“Fair, at least it was better than when you asked Xiaojun about the weather when he was only 3 months old.”

Sicheng chuckled. “Quiet, you.”

 

All of a sudden, Sicheng yelped and crouched down to grip at his foot in pain. Kun immediately looked concerned and asked if he was okay. Soon enough, Sicheng got back up, with a wet teething toy in hand.

“Found your son’s toy,” he said, wincing.

 

Kun and Sicheng continued to banter back and forth as they made their way to the living room. When they reached, they found Ten already there, with the popcorn bowl on his lap as he tried to defend it from a young boy who tried very hard to reach for it.

 

“Go away, you little brat,” Ten said, struggling as he swatted the boy’s hands away everytime he was about to reach for a popcorn.

“Come on! Don’t be stingy, I’m hungry,” the boy argued back. He tried poking at Ten’s side to weaken him, but Ten didn’t budge.

“I said no! We’ve got plenty of food in the kitchen.”

“Come on, Dad! You can’t just make me watch and smell as you make popcorn and _not_ share it. That’s not fair, it’s practically torture.”

“Yeah well, living is torture and we’re all trapped in a cage called reality, kid.”

 

Kun sighed. “Ten, what did I say about bringing up existentialism in front of the kids right before their bedtime?” he scolded. Ten looked at him and pouted.

“That I shouldn’t do that because then they’ll stay up asking us questions that we don’t have the answers to…” he recited. Kun, however, wasn’t satisfied.

“Because…?” he urged.

Ten sighed. “Because of my stupid actions.” Sicheng stifled a laugh.

 

Kun nodded, satisfied. He then turned to look at the boy. “Hendery, you know that you can’t have snacks late at night.”

 

This time, it was the boy’s turn to pout at Kun. “But you and Dad are eating them!”

“That’s different. We’re adults. You’re not old enough to make poor life decisions yet. Now go get ready for bed.”

 

Hendery huffed and started to sulk away, but not before Sicheng caught Ten secretly sneaking a couple of popcorn into his son’s hands. Hendery beamed at Ten, who put his lips over his mouth as he glanced over at Kun, who was seemingly not paying attention. Hendery nodded and kissed Ten’s cheek before scurrying off to his room. When Sicheng glanced at his other friend, he saw that Kun was trying hard to supress a fond smile from showing on his lips as he continued to pretend to be ‘occupied’ with Yangyang. Once Hendery left, Kun made his way over to Ten.

 

“Nine year olds,” Kun sighed as he sat beside his husband.

“Amen, brother,” replied Ten, who laughed and nuzzled his head into Kun’s neck when he glared at him. Sicheng smiled warmly as he watched his two friends.

 

Kun and Ten had been inseparable since forever. They had been really close, even before they met Sicheng and he had front row seats as he got to witness their relationship grow right in front of his eyes.

 

Elementary was cute, where they’d cling onto each other all the time. High school was slightly torturous, as they continued to tiptoe around their feelings and separately ranted to Sicheng about the other, convinced that the other party only saw them as a close friend. Sicheng was just relieved when they finally got their shit together and started dating around their first year of college. After 4 years of happily dating, they got married and soon enough adopted twins.

 

Now, 5 years into their marriage with 3 kids, Sicheng felt a swell of pride as he watched his two best friends, still happily in love with each other and in an honest, genuine, and consensual relationship.

 

Which couldn’t really be said the same for him.

 

As if on cue, Ten stopped snuggling into Kun and leaned forward to face Sicheng, his eyes sparkling. Kun quickly took the bowl from his husband’s lap before it fell and made a mess on the floor and set it on the table.

 

“So? What the f-” Ten immediately covered his mouth and whipped his head around to see Yangyang staring at him. Ten then continued in a hushed voice, “What the frick did you mean when you said that _the_ Jung Jaehyun and _the_ you are getting married?”

 

Kun rolled his eyes, but Sicheng could tell that even he was really curious about the whole thing, he noticed by the way Kun had looked at him intensely, turning his head slightly so he could clearly hear every word that Sicheng said.

 

Sicheng sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

 

“Where do I even begin?”

 

***

 

"You spat. On his suit."

"I panicked."

Kun facepalmed. "You were being dragged by security already. You didn't have to do anything else. Why couldn't you have just stayed put and get kicked out like a normal human being?"

 

Ten lightly punched Kun's shoulder. "No that was gold shut up." He reached over to give Sicheng a high five as Kun sighed in resignation.

 

"Yeah, so that's it, I guess," Sicheng shrugged.

 

“That… sucks,” was all Ten could say as he leaned back into the couch, panting slightly from all the drama receiving.

 

Kun tutted softly as he picked a piece of popcorn that was stuck on Ten’s shirt and popped it into his own mouth before agreeing. Around the middle of the story, Yangyang had fallen asleep in Kun’s lap and they were careful not to wake him. Kun ended up becoming so invested into the story that he had forgotten to put his baby into his crib.

 

“Yeah. I have to admit that was a wild roller coaster from start to finish,” Kun whispered.

“Right?!” Sicheng cried, quietly of course. “ _Thank_ you. My family is being way too nonchalant about everything and Jaehyun is being a total ass. I feel like no one is considering _my_ situation.”

 

Ten nodded thoughtfully as he grabbed another handful of popcorn and stuffed it into his mouth. This time, Kun managed to catch the popcorn from falling onto Ten’s shirt again and put them into his own mouth while barely looking at his husband.

 

“Yeah,” Ten said in between chewing. “And who the hell does he think he is, calling DDA a ‘hobby’? That’s my workplace and entire life’s passion you’re insulting, asshole!”

 

Sicheng knew where Ten’s anger was coming from. Ten had loved dancing, he was practically born a dancer. He had worked really hard to finally achieve his dream, going through many hardships and even leaving his home in Thailand in order to pursue it. For Jaehyun to think so little of that must have stung Ten deeply.

 

Kun knew this too, and he squeezed Ten’s shoulder comfortingly, with Ten whimpering to the touch. Sicheng sighed.

 

“Yeah anyway,” he continued. “I just… it’s been a long day. I don’t even know what to say to my parents after today.”

 

Kun hummed. “Well, that must have been hard to take in, but you could have been more composed and asked them about the details slowly to try to negotiate,” Kun tried to reason. “I’m pretty sure it was difficult for them to come to this decision too, knowing that you and Jaehyun don’t get along. They must have been desperate, especially since their eldest son ran away.”

 

“Maybe,” Sicheng sighed. He guessed he could have been more sensitive about the whole thing now that he looked back at it.

 

“Well,” Ten interrupted. “ _I_ for one think that you could have been more aggressive. It’s not fair for them to dump all this load on you in one afternoon and expect you to be okay with it. Plus, an arranged marriage? What is this, are you trying to settle a war between two neighbouring kingdoms or something?”

 

Sicheng jumped slightly in his seat as he looked at Ten gratefully. “That’s exactly what I said!” Ten looked at Kun with a smug look on his face.

 

“See, babe?” He pointed at his head and then at Sicheng’s back and forth. “Best friend telepathy.”

Kun rolled his eyes. “I thought it was ‘best friend instincts’.”

“Same difference.”

“Is not.”

“Is too.”

“Is not!”

“Is too!”

“Is- Ow ow ow ow. Yangyang, that hurts.”

 

Kun and Ten’s bickering had caused baby Yangyang to have woken up from his slumber. Instead of crying, the first thing that he did was reach for his father’s hair and tugged it with all the might that his tiny infant body could muster, which was just enough to cause Kun to yelp in pain. Ten suddenly stopped arguing and started to softly coo at his youngest son as he tried to pry his little fingers away from his husband’s hair.

 

Once Kun was free from Yangyang’s grasp, he started to whimper before going full out crying. Ten took over and took Yangyang away from Kun as he started to kiss his baby’s face with soft pecks all over.

 

“There, there, baby,” he cooed. “I’m sorry me and Papa were being too loud. He just can’t accept the fact that me and Uncle Sicheng are the superior friendship.” Kun glared at Ten before getting ready to stand up. Sicheng simply looked on in amusement.

 

“Shut up, Ten. Give him to me, I’ll put him to bed.”

Ten pouted. “No, I want to.”

Kun scoffed. “And risk you whispering anti-Papa propaganda as you tuck him in? I think the frick not.”

Ten rolled his eyes. “You are so paranoid.”

“Well, can I help it when I have _you_ as a husband?” Kun fired back.

“Drama queen.”

 

Around that time, the three adults heard quiet footsteps approaching them. They all turned around to see a boy- not Hendery- looking at them, rubbing his eyes sleepily.

 

“Did something happen?” he yawned.

“Oh, I’m sorry sweetie,” Kun spoke in a hushed tone. “Did we wake you? I’m sorry, you can go back to bed. Daddy and Papa will handle this.”

“Nice going, Kun,” Ten whispered. “You woke up Xiaojun.”

“Can you stop attacking me for one second?”

 

Xiaojun looked at his crying brother in his dad’s arms and shook his head softly. He then made his way over to Yangyang.

 

“No, it’s okay. I’ll calm him down and take him to bed. I’m sure you guys are still busy catching up. Hi, Uncle Sicheng.” Xiaojun turned to look at Sicheng and waved with a smile on his face. Sicheng waved back.

 

“Hi, Xiaojun. Sorry if we were being too loud. You know how your fathers can get.”

Xiaojun giggled. “No, it’s fine. I’m not bothered. I’ll just take Yangyang to bed and go back to sleep now. So. goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

 

“Night, buddy,” Ten said as he handed Yangyang to Xiaojun. “You’re the real mvp.”

 

Kun pulled Xiaojun into a brief hug and kissed his forehead. “Goodnight, sweetheart. Sweet dreams.”

 

Xiaojun yawned. “Thank you. Okay I’ll leave now.”

 

Once they heard Yangyang calm down and Xiaojun go back to his room, the three of them sighed in relief.

 

“Thank God for Xiaojun,” Sicheng breathed.

 

“Tell me about it,” Kun agreed. “I swear other than me, he’s the only one who’s keeping this family alive. How did I get so lucky?” Ten nodded.

“Yeah, unlike Hendery, that little twerp. They’re twins yet they couldn’t have been more different.”

“Oh please, you always join forces with him to make my life miserable. Plus, they’re not even twins. They’re a month apart.”

“Well, we adopted them at the same time, so they’re twins in my book.”

“No- you know what? Whatever.”

 

Sicheng chuckled as he quietly observed them before reaching for the popcorn bowl and popping them into his mouth.

 

“Must be nice, marrying the person you’re deeply in love with.” At his words, Kun and Ten blushed.

 

“In love? Who said I loved this loser?” Ten stammered, glaring at Kun.

“Excuse me? _You’re_ the one who said yes when I proposed!” Kun shot back.

Ten blushed even harder. “Yeah well, _you_ were the one who proposed in the first place. You were obviously so desperate to marry me that you had to make the first move.”

Kun looked at him as if he was stupid. “I mean. Duh.”

 

Sicheng laughed as Ten hit Kun’s shoulder, hiding his now firetruck red face into one of the couch cushions. The two of them stopped when they heard Sicheng sigh longingly.

 

“See? I wish I had that.”

 

“Oh sweetie.” Ten quickly left Kun’s side and went over to comfort Sicheng (and definitely _not_ because he couldn’t handle being near Kun at the moment).

 

Ten hugged Sicheng tightly as he spoke, his words muffled as he buried his face into Sicheng’s shoulders, “I’m so sorry this had to happen to you. I wish I knew what we could do to help.”

 

“Maybe sleep on it and start fresh the next day?” Kun offered, which caused Ten to lift his head up to roll his eyes at Kun.

 

“Good idea, Kun. ‘Sleep on it’. That’ll solve everything.”

Kun frowned. “Well, it’s better than nothing.”

Ten put his hands up in surrender as he stood up. “Oh no no, I’m not attacking you. You’re right, by all means, sleep on it, Sicheng. It’ll be like turning reality off and on again. In fact, I’m gonna sleep on it too. Maybe when I wake up I’ll figure out why I married a lame ass loser. Goodnight”

 

With an exaggerated yawn, he kissed Sicheng’s cheek and stuck his tongue out at Kun before disappearing off into his bedroom. Sicheng looked at Kun with his eyebrows raised.

 

“What’s up with him?” Kun waved his hand in dismissal before picking up the now empty popcorn bowl.

 

“This is why you shouldn’t have snacks late at night. The sugar is getting to him.”

 

Sicheng laughed before yawning himself. He started to get up and stretched.

 

“Anyways, I should probably get going. It’s late. I’ll try and follow your advice. Maybe the anger from this afternoon would have dissipitated by then.” Kun laughed before helping himself up too, and began to see Sicheng out.

 

“No, Ten’s right. It’s a dumb idea. I just couldn’t think of anything.”

“Well, like you said, it’s better than nothing.”

 

When the two of them reached the door, they bid each other good night. Kun told Sicheng to text him once he got home safe, with the latter nodding tiredly in response. Before Sicheng left, both their phones chimed as they received notification from their group chat. When Kun read the texts, he cursed softly as he blushed, before slamming the door on Sicheng’s face.

 

Confused, Sicheng looked at the texts himself before giggling.

 

**_ Ten _ **

_baby where are you_

_hurry up and cuddle me im cold :(_

_oh shit wrong chat_

_sicheng you didn’t see anything_

Later that night, Sicheng really did sleep on it.

 

***

 

Sicheng sinally woke up after missing several alarms the next morning. With a heavy heart, he sighed.

 

“I think I know what I have to do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I find it weird to use western honourifics (?) like Uncle or Mr. and Mrs. especially when this is vaguely in a Korean setting, but I also feel weird using '-ssi' and '-shushu' and all the likes cause I'm not confident enough to use them. I only retained '-hyung' and '-ge' cause there is no equivalent in the English language as far as I know of. So sorry if y'all cringed cause I did too.
> 
> also I'm so sorry if there's less jaewin in this chapter I got too excited over kunten ;-;
> 
> the point of my story is that even tho the main ship is jaewin, I also want to show the dynamics between the other characters and their relationship dynamics. I worked hard in deciding the personalities of the rest of the cast and the thing about stories is that I really want to show that background characters lead complex lives but I promise that jaewin will be the most focused ship here.
> 
> (I am also on an agenda to make rare ships more of a thing so dont mind me)
> 
> anyway hi to anyone who made it this far (yes it's only two chapters but if you thought that it was worth continuing even after 6000 words of that mess then I salute you).
> 
> I'm so happy people liked it and I encourage more comments to see how you guys received this work! any sort of feedback is appreciated EXCEPT for rude comments. I hope you enjoyed!


	3. I Know Exactly Where This is Going

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sicheng slept on it, and boy was that one productive sleep. 
> 
> Then again, Kun was never wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello... I am so sorry for taking so long to update. I've been battling with my anxiety that kind of made it hard for me to continue writing no matter how much I want this to be completed. Seeing all your lovely comments really lifted my spirits but it also made me want to write only the best for you, and I wasn't sure if I could deliver that. For now I've decided that I'm just gonna write without sweating the small stuff, and maybe if I ever complete this, I can just go back to this story and do some major editing to make this story better.
> 
> Thank you for being patient! I honestly get so excited when I see comments from you guys, so keep it up!

Sicheng took a deep breath as he adjusts the file in his hands, looking up at the looming building before him.

 

He didn’t think that he’d be back in Jung Corp. so soon, especially after being kicked out in the most humiliating way possible. But he really didn’t want to keep skirting around the issue and he’d rather have it addressed as soon as possible to avoid any future headaches.

 

Although, in hindsight, that would be somewhat impossible to avoid considering what he was about to get himself into.

 

_“Are you sure about this?”_ Kun had asked, very unsure. Sicheng had paid a quick visit to their house early in the morning before they had to leave for work, wanting consultation from his best friends if he was doing the right thing. _“I mean I did tell you to sleep on it, but I didn’t think you’d come up with a decision so soon.”_

_“Oh hush, Kun,”_ Ten said, eyes twinkling in excitement. _“I think it’s funny. Let him do it. Tell us how it goes.”_

And Sicheng, despite the lack of better reasoning, was convinced anyway. And now here is was, about to make probably one of the worst decisions of his entire life.

 

He strode into the building.

 

***

 

Maybe since the last incident, Jaehyun (though Sicheng had the feeling it was all Doyoung’s work), had probably blacklisted him or something cause the minute reception recognized his face, their eyes widened as they looked around for security, who thankfully (for them) was nearby.

 

Sicheng raised his hands defensively as he tried to convince them that he had come in peace. The security guard did not slow down in their footsteps, though.

  
“Listen, I just want to talk to Jung Jaehyun and- Argh,” Sicheng hissed in pain when the guard immediately grabbed a hold of his arms and twisted it around his back, forcefully taking the file out of his hands.

 

“You’ve got some nerve to show up here again harassing the CEO _just yesterday_ , sir,” he said sternly. “Now if you would just kindly follow us out of the building, there will be no trouble. I promise.”

 

“You don’t- understand,” Sicheng said, trying to adjust his position so that he’d have some relief of comfort, but to no avail. “This is really important. I need to see Jaehyun to talk to him about someth- OW!” The security guard tightened his grip around Sicheng.

 

“That’s Mr. Jung to you, sir,” he said, his voice threatening. “Now I don’t know who you are, but we got in a lot of trouble for letting you in last time, so I have to guess that you’re not exactly a close friend of his.”

 

Sicheng opened his mouth to protest but gave up and shrugged. He’s not wrong.

 

The guard tore his eyes away from Sicheng briefly to inspect the file he held in his free hand. “This file,” he interrogated. “I assume you were about to bring it over to the CEO, too?” He raised an eyebrow at Sicheng, who nodded vigorously under his grip.

 

“Yes, there’s some important documents in there that I need to show-”

“Now, now,” the guard shook his head, interrupting him. “How would I know that this isn’t some sort of blackmail material to sabotage the company? I heard you businessman are ruthless when it came to profits.”

Sicheng rolled his eyes, despite not having the upper hand in the situation. “I’m not a businessman.” He paused to reconsider his previous statement. “But I guess what I’m gonna do is considered purely business, if you would just let me _see_ him-”

 

“Sicheng?”

 

Sicheng heard his name being called and looked over the guard’s shoulder, who saw Sicheng’s reaction and promptly turned around as well.

 

What they both saw was a fairly tall man, neatly dressed in a suit and a cup of coffee in his hand while the other was buried deep into his pants pocket. His eyes widened in curiosity before sparkling in delight as he made his way over the two men.

 

Sicheng squinted as the man made his way over, still trying to figure out who he was. As he got closer, the light hit his face and Sicheng had recognized him instantly.

 

“Jungwoo?” he sputtered. The man grinned, pleased to be remembered. He looked over at the guard before landing his eyes back at Sicheng.

“What did you get yourself into this time?” he asked, amused.

 

“Oh, I just had something I needed to go over with your CEO,” Sicheng responded calmly, despite being manhandled and struggling just a few moments earlier. Then again, Jungwoo had always had such a neutralizing effect on others.

 

Jungwoo’s eyes lit up as he bounced slightly in excitement. “Oh my God, you’re here to see Jaehyun? The gang’s finally getting back together?”

Sicheng flinched. “We weren’t exactly a gang-”

“Oh psh what are you talking about? We used to be so close!” Jungwoo waved a hand of dismissal towards the guard. “You can let him go, he’s with me.”

 

Sicheng looked at Jungwoo as if he was trying to figure him out. All he and Jaehyun ever did was fight back whenever they saw each other. Did it seem like friendly banter to Jungwoo this whole time?

 

The guard faltered in his grip, but nonetheless did not let go of Sicheng. “Uh, I’m sorry, Mr. Kim. But I’m afraid my orders came straight from the boss himself that-”

“Was it actually from the boss, or was it from Doyoung?” Jungwoo asked with his eyebrow raised.

The guard cleared his throat before answering, “Well, he is Mr. Jung’s personal secretary and-”

“He’s also a prissy killjoy who goes absolutely nuts when things don’t go his way,” Jungwoo retorted smoothly, rolling his eyes. “Now please hand over my friend so the three of us can catch up.”

 

He gave one final stern glare at the guard before he finally let go of Sicheng, and Jungwoo wasted no time in linking arms with him. While the guard was still hesitant, Jungwoo quickly snatched the file from his hands and started to guide Sicheng towards the elevator.

 

“I’ll be taking this,” Jungwoo said as he waved the file over to the guard before entering the elevator.

 

When the elevator doors closed, Jungwoo returned the file to Sicheng, who received it gratefully. It was quiet throughout the ride up, and Sicheng would side eye Jungwoo every now and then to try and make sense of what was happening.

 

Jungwoo had been Jaehyun’s closest (and probably only) friend. Like the Jungs and Dongs, Jaehyun’s and Jungwoo’s parents were close with each other as well; their families had a long history together for generations, so it was just natural for Jungwoo and Jaehyun to grow up close.

 

Sicheng would see Jungwoo sometimes, usually in the company of Jaehyun when his family would visit the Jungs. But unlike Jaehyun, Jungwoo was much friendlier and outgoing, and Sicheng loved to spend time with him. They could be considered friends, but they never really got the chance to bond due to Jaehyun’s and Sicheng’s absolute refusal to do so much as interact with each other. Understandably, Jungwoo would always end up by Jaehyun’s side, and though he was on amicable terms with Sicheng, eventually Sicheng lost contact with Jungwoo, too.

 

So, it’s no surprise that Sicheng was still wondering on what Jungwoo was playing at when he told the security guard that the three of them were close and insisted on ‘catching up’, as if Sicheng would waste a breath on Jaehyun for something that he did not give a fuck about.

 

Perhaps Jungwoo could sense the stare boring into him, for he looked over and laughed when he saw the look on Sicheng’s face, suspicious yet burning with curiosity. He gave Sicheng a wide smile.

 

“It’s been a while, Sicheng,” Jungwoo mused. “You went completely off radar for a couple years and now you’re back, _voluntarily_ seeing Jaehyun despite not even wanting to breath in his direction before. Were you soul searching during the time when you disappeared?”

 

Sicheng was about to deny it when it clicked. So Jungwoo _did_ know that he hated Jaehyun. Then did he purposely lie to the security guard to give him a pass? Sicheng looked up at Jungwoo with his mouth agape.

“Wait,” he stammered. “If you… then earlier in the lobby… why did you…?” He was really confused as to what’s going on, but Jungwoo simply laughed and grinned.

 

“Well, like I said, you voluntarily came to see Jaehyun.” He pointed at the file in Sicheng’s hands. “I’m guessing it has to be something important. Plus, I miss seeing you and Jaehyun argue, so I thought why not?” At that time, the elevator doors opened and Jungwoo and Sicheng stepped outside and towards the office.

 

“Don’t you have a job or something?” Sicheng asked, half-sarcastically. He glanced over Jungwoo’s suit and wondered why Jungwoo was wandering around Jaehyun’s lobby and instigating childhood fights around in the middle of the day.

 

Jungwoo snickered. “Hey, I was just joking around.” He reconsidered the statement for a bit. “Okay mostly. But no, Jaehyun told me to come here.”

 

“For what?” But before his question could be answered, they already arrived in front of the office.

 

Without knocking, Jungwoo easily opened the door to his best friend’s office, and the both of them were greeted by Jaehyun looking over some documents, his reading glasses perched on his nose as his eyebrows furrowed in concentration. Next to him, Doyoung stood with his hands folded neatly behind his back as he patiently waited for his boss to presumably give him his next order.

 

When the both of them heard the door open, they whipped up their heads to see Jungwoo, Sicheng sort of hidden at the back. Jaehyun let out a dramatic sigh as he placed the documents on the desk.

 

“Finally,” he said, exasperatedly. He then noticed the cup of coffee in Jungwoo’s hands, and had an irritated look on his face. “Are you kidding me? I asked you to come here around 30 minutes ago and you were taking your sweet time fetching your morning cup of coffee? Can you please be a little more professional here?”

 

Unfazed by Jaehyun, Jungwoo calmly took a sip from his cup and shrugged. “Okay I admit, I _was_ late for our appointment. But I need to clarify that I was only late by 20 minutes.” Jaehyun looked unimpressed, but Jungwoo continued anyway. “The other 10 was because I had to help out an old friend of ours.”

 

He turned around and gestured for Sicheng to come inside. Once Doyoung noticed Sicheng by the doorway, his once passive face immediately darkened with subtle hostility as he slowly approached the two of them.

 

“What is he doing here? I thought I made it clear with reception that-”

“A-ha! I knew you were the one who put Sicheng on your ever growing blacklist of people you dislike,” Jungwoo accused, pointing a finger towards him.

Doyoung took his eyes off Sicheng and scowled at Jungwoo. “ _You_ were the one who let him here? Do you have any idea what that man has done the Mr. Jung?”

Jungwoo folded his arms, careful to not spill his coffee. “Hm, he forgot to book an appointment? Looked at him funny? Did not appreciate your colour coded schedule? I don’t know, Doyoung. You tell me, what _did_ he do to your precious CEO?” he challenged.

 

Before Doyoung lost his temper, Jaehyun’s voice rang clear throughout the office, with no emotion.

 

“He spat on my suit yesterday.”

 

Jungwoo turned to look at Jaehyun, and then at Sicheng and back at Jaehyun again before bursting into laughter.

 

“You what? Ah dammit I wish I didn’t make a fake excuse not to come yesterday so I could have witnessed that. Oh shit, what a waste,” Jungwoo said in between fits of laughter. Jaehyun scowled.

 

“It’s not funny.”

 

“Oh it is _too_ funny. Here, hold this.” Jungwoo handed his coffee over to Doyoung, who took it in confusion.

 

Once Jungwoo’s hands were free, Jungwoo clutched his stomach as he proceeded to laugh some more. Sicheng shifted his feet and that was when Jaehyun finally looked over and saw the file. He narrowed his eyes.

 

“What is that?” he asked, his voice hostile.

 

Worried that Jaehyun won’t be able to hear him over Jungwoo’s laughter, as well as his personal preference to speak as little words as possible to the CEO, Sicheng made his way over to his desk. Doyoung, who was still standing there with the cup in his hand, immediately moved towards Sicheng to stop him from potentially humiliating his boss for the second time, but stopped in his tracks when Sicheng spoke up.

 

“I’ve come here with a proposal of my own,” he declared, handing over the file towards Jaehyun, who simply looked at it warily.

 

Hearing Sicheng’s declaration, Jungwoo finally stopped laughing and made his way over the two, ignoring Doyoung as well as his cup of coffee. He went behind the desk to drape an arm around Jaehyun’s shoulder, his lips spreading into a wide mischievous grin.

 

“Ooooh, a proposal? Sichengie, are you asking for Jaehyun’s hand in marriage, after all these years of romantic tension?” he teased. He chuckled when he could feel Jaehyun tense from under him.

 

“Well, yes,” Sicheng replied. Jungwoo stopped, his smile frozen on his face.

 

“Wait, what?”

 

“Doyoung, you’re free to go,” Jaehyun said suddenly to his secretary, who had a completely shocked expression on his face. When he finally registered Jaehyun’s orders, he shook his head and excused himself out of the office.

 

Once he was sure that Doyoung was out of earshot, Jaehyun turned around and glared at Sicheng, his ears red.

 

“What the fuck are you trying to play at, Dong?”

Sicheng rolled his eyes. “Can you like calm the fuck down? I’m trying to be civil here, no need to curse.”

Jaehyun didn’t back down however, and his voice was threatening to explode from anger. “You call that being civil? Are you kidding me? Don’t bullshit me, what the fuck did you mean by that?”

Now Sicheng started to look at him like he was crazy. “What the fuck are you on about? I’m obviously trying to negotiate with you into accepting the marriage. Like, I don’t want this as much as you do but do you have to get so worked up?”

 

Jungwoo, who was silent, spoke softly, “Wait… so it’s true? You actually meant _that_ kind of proposal?”

 

Sicheng nodded slowly. He didn’t really like it when people had to voice that aloud, the fact that he was gonna marry Jaehyun.

 

“Then,” Jungwoo’s voice started to crack a bit. Sicheng was starting to get concerned for him. “Did you also mean what you said? That you had romantic tension with Jaehyun all these years? Right under my nose?”

 

At first, Sicheng was confused. Then, he slowly processed what was being said and realized how his words must have sounded like. As soon as he realized, he blushed and shook his head furiously.

 

“Wait, no no no!” he denied vehemently. Now he understood why Jaehyun and Jungwoo reacted the way they did. “ _God_ no. I just meant the marriage part. I don’t harbour any sort of feelings for _him_ , other than contempt _._ ”

 

At Sicheng’s statement, Jungwoo looked even more confused. Jaehyun, on the other hand, took a moment to analyse Sicheng before sinking in his seat, relieved. But it wasn’t long before he tensed up again.

 

“Wait, _negotiate_? You actually want to go through with this whole thing? What makes you think I’d say yes? Are you nuts?” he asked incredulously.

 

Ignoring his comment, Sicheng opened his file and started sifting through the papers to look for a certain document.

 

“Now, I knew you’d say that,” Sicheng says, and made a tiny ‘ah’ when he found the paper he was looking for before placing the file onto the desk. “But I’ve slept on it, and I’ve seen things through a new perspective and how this marriage might actually benefit everyone in the end.”

 

Jaehyun raised his eyebrow. “You slept on it. For one day.”

Sicheng shrugged. “It was a good sleep.”

Still not convinced, Jaehyun folded his arms and leaned back into his chair. “Okay and how exactly will this whole thing benefit me, exactly?” he questioned.

Sicheng clicked his tongue. “I said _us,_ Jung. Everyone benefits here, don’t be selfish. And that is an excellent question. A question that can be answered through this here paper.”

 

Sicheng proudly handed over the document he was holding over to Jaehyun, who took it from him to read. He made a look when he read the content. Jungwoo, who read it over his shoulder, snorted.

 

**_ Amazing Plan that Will Benefit Everyone _ **

**_By Dong Sicheng_ **

**__ **

_**Sicheng (me) and Jaehyun (ew) get married** ->_ _**Sicheng’s (me) family business will get good rep - >**_ **_Jung Corp. gets more profit - >_ ** _**Everyone is rich - >**_ _**We (me) all succumb into the capitalist society - >**_ _**But everyone is rich so it’s okay**_

Jaehyun raised the ‘document’ and raised an eyebrow at Sicheng. “This is your so-called plan? Is this some kind of a joke?”

 

“Can you cut me some slack? I got these done in one morning,” he said defensively.

 

Jaehyun rolled his eyes and looked at the paper again. “I don’t get it. Why did you change your mind so suddenly? I thought you would have hated the idea of marrying me even more after what I said about your family.”

 

Sicheng’s jaw tensed slightly but kept his tone calm. “Yeah, don’t worry, I still hate you for being rude as fuck.” He hesitated for a bit before continuing. “But I thought about what you said and I’m willing to admit one thing: you’re right. While DDA is _apparently_ doing well, I still know that it doesn’t really have a solid, uh, foundation? I don’t know, but what I _do_ know is that if we go through with this merge, it would help out the business a lot. And I know how much this dance studio means to my family, and to my friend, not to mention the hundreds that take their time to enrol there. I’d just like to see the studio in a more stable state than it is now.”

 

Sicheng took a deep breath. He hadn’t really expected to pour some of his feelings out during the negotiation. _Purely business my ass,_ he thought.

 

But if that was gonna gain some pity points from the CEO, he wasn’t gonna complain. Though he doubted that Jaehyun was even capable of sympathy.

 

To Jaehyun’s credit though, something flickered in his eyes momentarily, though Sicheng wasn’t quick enough to catch it. Still, judging by the purse of his lips, it didn’t seem like Jaehyun was budging anytime soon.

 

“Well, that’s for your side, at least,” he said tersely. “I still don’t see how this will benefit _my_ company.”

 

Sicheng made a sound of frustration. “I don’t know, having a wider variety of consumers paying for shit? Extending the market towards the youth? Do I look like a fucking businessman? Isn’t that your job?”

 

“Did you really barge in here for the second time and expect me to fill in the gaps for the plan that _you_ made?” Jaehyun argued, annoyed. He scoffed and tossed Sicheng’s plan onto his desk before picking up the document he had been reading before Sicheng and Jungwoo came in.

 

Without sparing Sicheng another glance, he spoke with a finalizing tone, “Anyway, this plan of yours would only satisfy our parents anyway. I don’t see how it has to do with me. I apologize, but I’m gonna have to reject your ‘proposal’.”

 

Sicheng narrowed his eyes at Jaehyun before looking up at Jungwoo, who looked at him apologetically. Sicheng felt bad for him, he didn’t even know what was going on. But even if he did, they both knew that no one could change Jaehyun’s mind once he makes a decision.

 

Except for one person.

 

Sicheng took a deep breath, contemplating his next words.

 

“I know about the early retirement,” Sicheng whispered, and across him he could see Jaehyun visibly freeze, no longer focusing on the paper in front of him.

 

“Yes,” he said, his tone low and careful. “My father decided that it was about time for the company to be managed under a new CEO and I had no choice but to take up on the offer.”

 

Sicheng shook his head. He didn’t want to have to bring it up, he knew that it was a sensitive topic. But as much as he hated Jaehyun, having been forced to grow up with him meant that Sicheng had learned a few things about the man in front of him.

 

Which meant that he knew that Jaehyun’s intention of becoming CEO went deeper than he had originally thought.

 

“It wasn’t that you didn’t have a choice,” Sicheng spoke softly. “You had been prepared to take over all this time.”

“Well, yes, I thought it’d be good to be prepared should something hap-”

“No.” He looked down towards the desk, not making eye contact. “You knew this would happen.”

 

Even though he couldn’t see him, he could hear the slight crumple of the document that Jaehyun held in his hands. He was starting to break.

 

“Excuse me?” he whispered, voice shaking with anger.

 

Sicheng looked up, and he felt his heart drop slightly at the sight before him. Jaehyun was staring at him dead in the eyes, his ears red. Yet, Sicheng had never seen such a vulnerable look on him before.

 

But Sicheng steeled his heart and stood his ground. Although when he opened his mouth, he could already feel the tremble in his next words.

 

“You did it so you could set him free.”

 

And that made Jaehyun break.

 

Clenching his fist, the poor document in his hands were now fully crumpled and slightly torn under Jaehyun’s tight grip. His hands trembled slightly as he stared into the air, jaw clenched. The air became thick with tension, and no one spoke a word.

 

Sicheng looked away and let out a small breath. He knew that there was nobody in the world that meant more to Jaehyun than Taeyong did. Even if Jaehyun rarely smiled, Sicheng still took notice whenever Jaehyun’s face relaxed whenever Taeyong was speaking to him. He was still monotonous, yet Jaehyun always held a conversation with his brother whenever Taeyong spoke to him. And while he never took upon Sicheng’s offers to play, Sicheng would always catch Jaehyun quietly indulging in Taeyong’s activities whenever he thought no one was looking.

 

For Jaehyun, nothing in the world meant more than Taeyong’s happiness, and he knew that Taeyong would never find that whilst confined in a stuffy office on the highest floor of the building.

 

Which was probably why Jaehyun had taken upon himself to allow Taeyong to find his own path of happiness, even if it was at the cost of his own. And that had always been the one thing that Sicheng had admired about him.

 

He also figured that Jaehyun had been working hard so that his family would leave his brother alone. If Jaehyun was producing steady results, then maybe it would be less of a burden on his family and also to ease Taeyong’s guilt for leaving. So, if he felt like he lost a huge opportunity to expand the company’s influence, he would have felt that all of his efforts would have gone to waste.

 

And as Sicheng thought back about the older brother figure he never had, who had saved him in more ways than he could imagine and had practically raised him, he realized that maybe Jaehyun wasn’t the only one who would do anything for Taeyong.

 

Maybe that’s also the reason he finally decided to agree to this whole mess.

 

 

His monologue, however, was interrupted by a cough. He looked up to see Jungwoo fidgeting in his spot. He had forgotten that he was there.

 

“Uh, wow,” Jungwoo laughed, clearly uncomfortable. “You know you could have just, uh, told me to leave? I don’t think I was supposed to hear that.”

 

Maybe it was Jungwoo’s neutralizing nature that had come into effect, because Jaehyun had started to calm down slightly and scoffed.

 

“Please, as if any of this was news to you.” He slowly turned to look at Sicheng, his face once again impassive. “That must have been one hell of a sleep.”

 

A smile threatened to tug at Sicheng’s lips as his mind shifted from Kun’s halfhearted advice to him and Ten and their happy family.

 

“Yeah well, my friend has never been wrong in making a decision.”

 

Jaehyun said nothing else after that, and glanced at Sicheng’s ‘plan’ in contemplation. After a while, he sighed and looked up at him.

 

“Okay, fine,” he said with force, probably to avoid his voice from faltering. “I’ll think about it. What do you have in mind?”

 

Sicheng, not really expecting Jaehyun to agree so suddenly, took a while to process his words. When he did, he quickly scrambled for his file and took out another document and spread it onto the desk for both of them to see.

 

 

 

**_ Rules of Matrimony between Dong Sicheng (me) and Jung Jaehyun (ew): A Contract _ **

**_By Dong Sicheng_ **

****

  * _Both parties must ATTEMPT to be civil with each other, or at least in public._
  * _No being in the same room for more than 10 minutes MAX._
  * _No touching unless it’s for something along the lines of saving Dong Sicheng from oncoming traffic._
  * _No intimacy; please respect each other’s personal space._
  * _No kissing. Control yourself._
  * **_NO Falling in love_**
  * _We quietly divorce once the merge has stabilized and there would be no consequences of backlash._



_Signed by:_

 

___________

_Dong Sicheng, Husband #1_

______________

_Jung Jaehyun, Husband #2_

____________

_Witness:_

 

 

Jaehyun opened his mouth to comment, but decided against it.

 

“Okay,” he finally said. “I’m guessing you didn’t have a lawyer present when making this… contract?”

Sicheng rolled his eyes. “I work at a café and a dance studio. Do I look like I can afford a lawyer?”

 

“That’s where I come in.” Jungwoo said suddenly interrupting the both of them. He took the contract from the desk and scanned it over. Sicheng looked at him with his mouth open.

 

“Wait, you’re a lawyer?” he exclaimed.

“Sure am,” Jungwoo replied, not looking up from the paper. “Jaehyun’s lawyer to be exact. It’s why I’m here, he wanted to go through some things but I don’t mind making a detour.”

 

After looking through the contract a while more, Jungwoo nodded in satisfaction.

 

“Yeap, this contract definitely needs a lot of work, but it doesn’t matter. I think this should be fine.”

 

“What do you mean it doesn’t matter?” Jaehyun spluttered. “This contract is ridiculous! You don’t even know what’s going on.”

 

“Oh, I can take a guess.” Jungwoo finally looked up, his eyes twinkling. “Besides, the validity of this contract doesn’t matter because I know it would be useless in the end, anyway.”

 

Sicheng stared at him, lost. “Useless? What do you mean useless?”

Jungwoo ignored him and started looking for a pen. “Sicheng sweetie, I’m a lawyer. I do a lot of reading. And based on what I just saw as well as this contract, I think I know _exactly_ how it’s gonna go down.”

 

For some reason, Sicheng had an inkling that Jungwoo wasn’t really referring to case studies or anything similar.

 

“Wait, what are you doing?” Jaehyun exclaimed when Jungwoo started to sign his name under _‘Witness’_ and promptly wrote his name afterwards.

 

“Sealing the deal, Jae. What does it look like I’m doing?” Jungwoo hummed. He shoved both the pen and contract towards Jaehyun.

 

“Now hurry and sign it already. Do it do it,” he urged. Sicheng felt that the lawyer was suspiciously too excited about this whole situation than he should be.

 

Nonetheless, Jaehyun took the pen and paper anyway. He poised the pen above the contract, but didn’t sign his name. He looked at Sicheng hesitantly.

 

“Are we really doing this?” he asked, somewhere in his eyes begging for Sicheng to reveal that this had been some kind of a sick joke.

But Sicheng simply shrugged. “I guess we are.”

 

And with that, Jaehyun reluctantly signed the contract before handing it over to Sicheng who did the same.

 

Once the three of them finished signing, Jungwoo clapped his hands excitedly and looked at the both of them.

 

“So what happens now?” Jaehyun looked at Sicheng, wondering the same thing. Sicheng sighed.

 

“I guess,” he said. “We tell our families.”

Jaehyun scoffed. “You go do that, I already have a lot of work on my plate as it is so maybe you can use that free time you have barging into my building and go do something useful for once.”

 

Before Sicheng could protest, Jungwoo jumped in between them and wrapped his arms around Sicheng’s shoulders as he escorted him out.

 

“Okay, you two, calm down,” Jungwoo said, trying to stop them from arguing again. He opened the door of the office and stopped when he saw Doyoung at his desk, looking at him and Sicheng warily.

 

For some reason, Jungwoo cleared his throat and slightly raised his voice. “Remember that you two _just_ got engaged, and we wouldn’t want a lover’s spat so early into the relationship now do we? Oh Doyoung! I didn’t see you there,” Jungwoo lied, feigning a look of surprise on his face. “Don’t mind me, I’m just escorting Mr. Jung’s _new fiancé_ out of the building now. Say, where did you put my cup of coffee?”

“I threw it away.”

“Of course you did,” he smiled, although it was somewhat strained. “Anyway, I’ll be off. See you later, Jaehyun! Toodles, Doyoung.”

 

Giving one last icy smile, Jungwoo turned his back on Doyoung and led Sicheng towards the elevator to see him off.

 

Once they were gone, Doyoung cleared his throat and assorted the files in his hands before heading into the office himself.

 

“The reports are done, sir,” he said, carefully placing the files onto Jaehyun’s desk. Jaehyun nodded vaguely and opened a random file.

 

Awkward, Doyoung hesitated before asking, “Uh, was that Mr. Kim teasing you again?” He knew just how much Jungwoo liked to piss his best friend off, so Doyoung wouldn’t be surprised if Jungwoo started pairing him off with the man that harassed his boss.

 

Instead of immediately ranting like usual, Jaehyun paused before sighing. “I want to say yes, but I guess he wasn’t this time.”

“Pardon?” Doyoung was lost. “So that man earlier, he was…?”

 

Jaehyun let out another sigh before going back through the files. “He is my fiancé, yes.”

 

***

 

“So it’s official? You and Jaehyun agreed to get married?”

 

Sicheng had explained everything the moment he was home to deliver the news. His parents sat across from him, excited yet still cautious in case their son changes his mind. Next to him, Renjun wrapped his arms around Sicheng as an act of comfort, a gesture which Sicheng received gratefully.

 

“Yes,” he sighed. He handed over the contract to his parents, who took it and read it carefully. “It wasn’t easy, but I finally got him to agree.”

“Sweetheart, that’s great but… this is…?”

“A contract. I know I said I’d do it but I still get to lay some ground rules if I am ever getting into this whole thing. I didn’t ask you to sign it because it should already be clear that you have no say in the matter.”

His mother flinched slightly at Sicheng’s words, but nodded anyway. “Yes, we understand. Again, we’re so sorry to have forced this upon you. We’re really happy that you agreed to this.”

 

His father scanned through the contract before his eyes landed on the signatures.

 

“Oh?” he asked, eyebrows raised. “Your witness…?”

“Oh yeah, we got a lawyer to sign it and everything, so this contract is totally legit.” Sicheng exaggerated a bit on that part, he would admit, but he still couldn’t figure out what Jungwoo meant earlier when he said that the contract would end up useless.

.

 

His mother peeked over her husband’s shoulder and gasped. “Kim Jungwoo? Oh, isn’t that the boy from the Kim family that Bo-ah and Siwon are close to?” His husband nodded.

 

Renjun finally spoke up from underneath Sicheng’s arm. “So what does this mean?”

 

His mother looked at him without bothering to conceal the excitement on her face.

 

“It means we have a wedding to plan!”

 

***

 

Doyoung ran a hand through his hair as he fixed yet another mistake in his report. He took a sip from his cup before realizing that it was already empty and let out a frustrated sigh.

 

_Mr. Jung is engaged._

This had been the third time in the past hour that Jaehyun had called him in to point out the errors in his data. Doyoung was usually very on top of things, and was very thorough in his reports. He always paid attention to detail, no matter how small.

 

_Mr. Jung is engaged._

Yet for some reason, he couldn’t figure out for the life of him why he was so out if it today. Was it because it had been a long day? Was it because he was getting stressed over the intruder earlier that made his way into the office for the second time that week? Was it because he had to deal with his boss’ annoying lawyer friend, who always made it his point to push Doyoung’s buttons whenever they crossed paths?

 

_Mr. Jung is engaged._

Whatever it was, Doyoung needed to snap out of it soon. And even if he didn’t outright say it, he could tell that his boss was starting to get concerned to, having never seen his secretary make this many mistakes in a single day. And Doyoung absolutely refused to let him down.

 

_Mr. Jung is engaged._

Doyoung tried to ignore the pain in his chest. Maybe that was it. Maybe he’s just been too focused on work that now he’s starting to burn out, and now his body was finally catching up to the fatigue that Doyoung tried to suppress all this time.

 

_Mr Jung is engaged._

Oh, who was he kidding? Doyoung couldn’t take it anymore, he pushed his chair back and buried his face in his hands as he finally took a short break before messing up any further. Of course he knew the reason for his sudden underperformance.

 

_He’s engaged._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I want to address a few things here. Maybe it's a little to early for me to think about, but I just need to get it off my chest.
> 
> First, tbh I think I realize why it's been so hard for me to continue writing this: it's cause this is my first time venturing into fanfiction. I used to really dislike fanfiction, simply because I felt like it was sort of a breech of privacy for the actual people involved and also because sometimes the story doesn't stay true to character? 
> 
> So I'm always conflicted when I write, cause I want to make it more relatable to fans and do the og characters justice when doing characterization, however I also want to make sure that I draw a definite line between fiction and reality, so I unintentionally (or intentionally) put distance between the character and the person that it was based on, and that hinders my writing. But I'm still learning, and hopefully one day I'll find a balance and become a better fanfic writer
> 
> Secondly, about scheduling. I can't really give a definite schedule since I'm purely writing based on my own moods as well as if I have the time. But I will try MY BEST to update AT LEAST once a week, so if you do become invested in this story, I hope that you'd be able to bear with my erratic schedules hahahaahhaha
> 
> Thirdly, no one said this but I'm really sorry if any of you found the pacing reaaaally slow. I get frustrated too hahah. But I really do want to become invested in this fic and explore what I can do with it. Tbh this fic is also just me experimenting with the fanfic universe so it's going to be quite long XD I'm sorry if you're not a big fan of that, but I think I'll just stick by with this current pacing if you don't mind.
> 
> okay that is all I hope you enjoyed!


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